9/22 Powell’s ROH Death Before Dishonor live review: Cody vs. Minoru Suzuki for the ROH Title, The Young Bucks vs. Motor City Machine Guns for the ROH Tag Titles, Silas Young vs. Jay Lethal in a Last Man Standing match

Ring of Honor Death Before Dishonor
Aired live on pay-per-view and on the FITE TV app
Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live

The opening video aired… The broadcast team of Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana checked in. Bobby Cruise worked as the ring announcer…

1. Bully Ray, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe vs. “The Kingdom” Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia for an ROH Six-Man Tag Title shot later in the show. The teams fought to ringside early. Mark performed the Cactus Jack elbow drop off the apron. Ouch. The dives continued with Taven performing a safe dive over the top onto Mark. O’Ryan teased doing a moonsault, then turned and told the crowd to stick it. Jay performed a suicide dive.

Powell’s POV: O’Ryan suffered a broken leg in this venue at the 15th Anniversary pay-per-view when he performed a move off the ropes to ringside and his leg hit the barricade. It’s his first time back in this building, so it was a nice tease.

After some streaming issues (probably on my end rather than on FITE TV’s end), the Briscoes and Bully performed a Doomsday Device on O’Ryan and scored the pin. After the match, Jay blew off his brother’s celebration. Jay went to ringside and grabbed a chair. Jay threw the chair at the head of O’Ryan…

Bully Ray, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe beat Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia in 12:05 to earn an ROH Six-Man Tag Title shot later in the show.

Powell’s POV: Jay Briscoe is back to being angry. They toned down that storyline on television recently, but he was back in angry mode after this match. It will be interesting to see if the Bully Ray and Briscoes pairing survives the night.

The broadcast team spoke at ringside and announced that Kenny Omega will wrestle at the Global Wars events. They also claimed that “Hangman” Adam Page was missing. They held up a flier that they said the Young Bucks were passing out for the missing Page. They said the Bucks would have to defend the six-man tag titles in a handicap match if Page didn’t show up… A pre-taped video aired with the Bullet Club members searching for Page. They all got together at the end and simultaneously asked, “Where’s Hangman?”…

2. Marty Scurll vs. Chuck Taylor. Riccaboni noted that this was the first ROH singles match for “Chuckie T”. Taylor offered a handshake, but Scurll shoved his hand away. Scurll performed a nice tornado DDT at ringside after diving through the ropes. Scurll powerbombed Taylor for a two count. He ran the ropes and Taylor returned the favor with a two count for a powerbomb. A short time later, Scurll performed a superplex, but Taylor hooked his legs when they landed and got a two count.

Taylor performed an Awful Waffle and had Scurll pinned, but Scurll put his foot on the ropes to break it. A short time later, Scurll pinned Taylor while using the ropes for leverage, but referee Todd Sinclair caught him. In the end, Scurll applied the crossface chicken wing for the submission win…

Marty Scurll defeated Chuck Taylor in 12:10.

Powell’s POV: A nice match between two wrestlers who are not being well booked in ROH. Scurll was a fine ROH TV Champion, but he hasn’t been involved in anything meaningful since he dropped the title to Kushida. Meanwhile, Chuckie T has yet to speak on ROH television, which is just plain baffling. It seems like ROH creative assumes that their television viewers know everything about the independent scene and New Japan Pro Wrestling. In other words, they just acted like everyone should know Taylor when he showed up and haven’t done anything to establish his character.

A video package recapped the Punishment Martinez vs. Jay White feud…

3. Punishment Martinez vs. Jay White in a Street Fight. Riccaboni noted that White is the only person in ROH who has beaten Martinez twice. Martinez came out first. White entered without music and struck Martinez from behind with a chair to start the match. They fought to ringside and Martinez pulled out a trashcan, which White kicked into him. Martinez came back and slammed White onto the can.

The wrestlers continued to incorporate weapons with two chairs in the corner, which White took advantage of by suplexing Martinez into the corner and then getting a two count. Later, Martinez low blowed White and then powerbombed him onto four chairs that were set up in the ring with two additional chars lying flat between the chairs. He doubled up with another move onto the chairs and covered White, who kicked out.

Martinez pulled out a bag of thumbtacks and spread them all over the middle of the ring. Martinez chokeslammed White onto the thumbtacks and then pinned him…

Punishment Martinez defeated Jay White in a Street Fight in 13:50.

Powell’s POV: A good brawl that resulted in Martinez getting a win over the man who has had his number in the storylines. On a side note, the match provided the first look at the deepest part of the seating in the venue, which once again made me wonder why ROH positions their hard camera to face the stage and a whopping three rows of seating. This isn’t a large venue, but it would look more impressive if the company would stop pointing the hard camera at their entrance set.

The broadcast team spoke at ringside and recapped the opening match, presumably while the ring crew got rid of the thumbtacks. Cabana seemed to be quieter in the mix than Riccaboni…

4. Adam Page and “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. Bully Ray, Jay Briscoe, and Mark Briscoe for the ROH Six-Man Tag Titles. The Young Bucks came out after the babyface trio and looked dejected. They held up their missing poster for Page. Just as the match was about to start, Page showed up with his hands and mouth taped. Oddly, he hit both Briscoes with his hands even though they were taped together at the wrist. He also performed a moonsault off the top rope and onto one of his opponents on the floor. Wait, who are the babyafaces? The Bucks removed the tape from Page and the fans chanted “welcome back” to him.

The Bullet Club trio were dominant early, but Bully and the Briscoes came back. Bully led the crowd in the “get the tables” chant. Mark complied and Jay remained in the ring, yet nodded his head along with the fans. Once the table was inside the ring, Jay slammed it onto Bully’s head. Page ran in and covered Ray for the win.

Mark looked surprised by his brother’s actions and confronted him at ringside after the match. Jay said something about Bully being a mofo (the uncensored kind). Jay left the ring and Mark stuck around while referees put ice packs under the neck of Bully (because that’s what they do in Japan)…

Powell’s POV: I botched the timing of the match, but it didn’t go very long, which is understandable considering the Bucks are wrestling again later in the show. The Page kidnapping angle was bizarre, but perhaps it will make more sense once they explain it, presumably as part of the story of Jay turning on Ray. I actually prefer the idea of Bully turning rather than either Briscoe, but we’ll see where it goes. My guess? Bully brings in buddies such as Tommy Dreamer to face the Briscoes, but I could be way off given that Mark doesn’t see down with his brother’s actions.

A video package set up the ROH TV Title match and focussed entirely on Kenny King…

5. Kushida vs. Kenny King for the ROH TV Title. King offered a handshake. Kushida was apprehensive, but they ended up shaking hands. Kushida’s mother was in the front row. He went to ringside and raised her hand and got a nice pop from the crowd a couple minutes into the match. Kushida drove King into the barricade right in front of King’s daughter, who awkwardly bowed to him.

Kushida targeted the arm of King and controlled the early offense. Kushida performed a great senton dive onto King on the floor in front of Kushida’s mother. King rolled through a top rope cross body block, but Kushida came right back with the Hoverboard Lock. King suplexed his way out of the hold. Later, the wrestlers traded strikes in the ring. Kushida ran the ropes and King delivered a nice spinebuster. There were dueling chants for the wrestlers. In the end, King caught Kushida in Electric Chair position, blocked a move, and hit his Royal Flush finisher for the win. After the match, King’s daughter entered the ring and celebrated with him…

Kenny King defeated Kushida in 16:25 to win the ROH TV Title.

Powell’s POV: A good match. It’s nice to see King get some love from creative. His return with Rhett Titus as the All Night Express was disappointing, The Cabinet faction was terrible, and the Rebellion wasn’t much better. He’s a talented guy who just hasn’t been booked well. Here’s hoping that the plan is to put Marty Scurll back in chase mode for the ROH TV Title because he’s been spinning his wheels in ROH ever since he dropped the title, and he and King should work well together.

A video package set up the Last Man Standing match…

6. Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young in a Last Man Standing match. Beer City Bruiser did not come out with Young despite being advertised as being in his corner. The wrestlers fought to ringside where Lethal removed one of the mats on the floor and then performed a side Russian leg sweep onto the exposed hardwood floor.

Young came back and took the belt off of ring announcer Bobby Cruise. Lethal ended up with the belt before Young could use it. Lethal whipped Young with it. Young asked if he wanted to be a real man and then told Young to hit him. Lethal obliged repeatedly.

Beer City Bruiser limped to ringside carrying his keg. He wore a brace on his left knee to sell the beating he took from Lethal in their recent television match. Bruiser and Young performed a nice kick into a suplex combination move on Lethal at 6:40.

Young put Lethal on a table at ringside. Bruiser sold his knee injury while going to the top rope. Bruiser went for a frogsplash on Lethal, who moved, causing Bruiser to crash through the table. Lethal performed a cutter off the apron on Young and they both went through a second table on the floor. A referee helped Bruiser to the back at 9:10.

Young, who had welts over his body, and Lethal both raced for the belt in the corner. Lethal got it first, but Young kicked him and ended up with the belt, which he struck Lethal with repeatedly. At 13:00, referee Todd Sinclair stopped his count while Young was down. Even Cabana had no idea why. Lethal worked over Young with a chair.

Lethal went to ringside and pulled out some duct tape, but Young prevented him from taping him to the bottom rope. Sinclair and Lethal butted heads. Lethal bled above his left eye. Young performed his Misery finisher. Young had Lethal down for a seven count, then he stopped the referee from counting. Young performed Lethal’s Lethal Injection move on him. The broadcast team sold it as the ultimate insult. Lethal got back to his feet at nine.

Young brought a large ladder into the ring. Lethal kicked Young’s knee, and Young fell face first onto the ladder. Lethal hit the Lethal Injection on Young. When Young beat the count. Lethal performed the move again. Lethal moved the ladder to ringside and set it up as Young got to his feet at eight. Lethal also pulled out a chair and set it up near the ladder on the floor.

Lethal had Young on the table and started to climb the ladder, but Young recovered and struck him with a chair multiple times. Both men climbed opposite sides of the ladder. Young used a zip tie to tie Lethal’s wrist to the ladder. They continued to fight at the top of the ladder and both men ended up crashing through the table. Lethal’s wrist came free of the zip tie. Young got to his feet at nine while Lethal stayed down…

Silas Young beat Jay Lethal in 21:20 in a Last Man Standing match.

Powell’s POV: A strong, intense brawl that lived up to the strong build. This is my favorite current program in ROH and this was my favorite match of the night thus far. It’s produced some good television segments and the feud reached a point where the Last Man Standing stipulation felt appropriate. I assume the zip tie was supposed to keep Lethal down to give him an out for losing. I actually prefer the way it played out as it gives Young a more meaningful win.

A video package aired on the Motor City Machine Guns that focussed on their longtime struggles to win the ROH Tag Titles…

7. “The Young Bucks” Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin for the ROH Tag Titles. Bobby Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Shelley avoided an early big Bucks spot. He went face to face with Matt and kissed him on the forehead. Matt responded by spitting at Shelley.

At 8:30, the Guns went for a missile dropkick Doomsday Device on Matt, but he landed on his feet and immediately superkicked Shelley. Cool spot. A short time later, Matt accidentally kicked his brother on the apron, and then Shelley performed Sliced Bread on Nick while pushing off from the ring post. The Guns had Matt pinned, but Nick broke it up with a Swanton around 10:30. The Guns followed up with the same double team move that bear War Machine, but Matt kicked out at the last moment.

The Bucks started superkicking and accidentally took out the referee at 11:30. REF BUMP!!! “The Addiction” Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian ran in and attacked both teams. The Guns took out Daniels and Kazarian briefly. The Bucks applied Sharpshooters on the Guns, but the Addiction duo broke it up. The Bucks and Guns worked together to perform a double Indy Taker on Daniels and Kazarian at ringside.

Both teams entered the ring and the fans chanted “This is awesome.” The teams traded shots. The Bucks put them down and the referee slowly started to recover. The Bucks performed More Bang For Your Buck, but Shelley put his knees up. The Guns performed a couple of double team moves and the referee recovered and counted the pin…

The Motor City Machine Guns beat The Young Bucks in 15:50 to win the ROH Tag Titles.

After the match, Nick took the tag titles away from the Guns. He gave one belt to his brother and kept the other for himself. They eventually walked over and put the belts on the shoulders of the Guns…

Powell’s POV: The Bucks are the most crowd pleasing and apparently respectful heels in the history of pro wrestling. That said, there’s no denying it works for them. The fans clearly enjoyed the match, but it seemed like there were more groans than cheers when the Guns won the match. The odd thing is that the pre-match video with the Guns was more effective in establishing their failed attempts to win the titles than anything that aired on television leading up to the match. It’s possible that same video aired on ROH TV and I’m just forgetting, but it really was better than anything I remember. The match was entertaining and the interference by Daniels and Kazarian was no surprise, but the tag title change was to me. Perhaps I should have seen it coming given that the Bucks were doing double duty, which gives them an out for losing.

A video package focussed on Cody’s ring kissing gimmick heading into the main event…

Suzuki received a nice ovation during his entrance and several streamers once he entered the ring. Four showgirls stood on the stage for Cody’s entrance. Brandi Rhodes came out wearing an American flag themed outfit. Cody came out and held up his new ring of honor, which Brandi kissed. Cody walked around ringside and held his ring out and a fan kissed it.

8. Cody (w/Brandi Rhodes) vs. Minoru Suzuki for the ROH Championship. Bobby Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Cruise delivered in-ring introductions for the title match. Cody held out his ring. Suziki bit his hand. Cody went to ringside and gave the ring to Brandi. At 4:10, Suzuki set up to kick Cody from the apron, but Cody pulled his wife in front of him on the floor. Cody slapped the chest of Suzuki at ringside a short time later, but Suzuki no sold it and yelled. “Come on.” Cody rolled Suzuki inside the ring. Suzuki rubbed his chest and kicked his hand.

At 6:40, Suzuki caught Cody with a cross arm breaker over the ropes and had to release it before the ref’s five count. Suzuki worked over Cody and caught him with a kick in the corner and then a running knee for a two count. Suzuki applied the cross arm breaker, but Cody put his feet on the ropes to break the hold. Suzuki backed referee Todd Sinclair into the corner and stuck out his tongue.

AT 9:40, Cody applied a modified version of the Yes Lock. Riccaboni said Cody was trying to send a message to one of the all-time great ROH Champions. Suzuki came back with a sleeper at 11:00. Suzuki released the hold and played to the crowd before going for a cradle piledriver, but Cody blocked it. Suzuki delivered a knee to the head. Cody came back with a Beautiful Disaster kick. Suzuki rebounded with a sleeper, but Cody broke free and performed CrossRhodes for the win…

Cody beat Minoru Suzuki in 12:30 to retain the ROH Championship.

After the match, Cody stood over Suzuki while Cabana spoke about how Suzuki seemed too occupied with playing around. Cody took the ring of honor that he retrieved from his wife and placed it on the lips of Suzuki, who was still pout. Cody headed to ringside and Brandi kissed the ring again. Once Cody left, Suzuki got up and slammed his hand on the apron while a security member tried to calm him down. Suzuki punched the security guard. He went after Cary Silkin, but stuck his tongue out instead of punching him and then headed to the back…

The broadcast team spoke at ringside about the main event. Cabana said Cody beat a legend and it had to be his biggest win as ROH Champion. Riccaboni sent his best to those affected by the recent natural disasters and closed the show…

Powell’s POV: A NJPW legend put over the ROH Champion. I expected Cody to retain obviously, but we’ve seen so many ROH wrestlers lose to NJPW wrestlers on ROH pay-per-view that it still felt surprising to see a clean finish. The match was decent. Given the circumstances that it was originally scheduled to be Dalton Castle getting the title shot before he suffered an injury, Suzuki was a cool surprise replacement. I’m a fan of heel champions getting credibility building clean wins so this worked for me. Overall, a solid ROH pay-per-view outing with the Lethal vs. Young match earning my pick as match of the night. I will have more to say about the show in my member exclusive audio review later tonight.

We are looking for correspondents for the ROH TV taping on Saturday in Las Vegas. If you are going to the show and want to help, email me at dotnetjason@gmail.com

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